That one element? Sandwiches wrapped and piled into a bowl! We've served sandwiches at plenty of parties, and it's always involved lots of stressing out over finding the perfect platters and then playing a Tetris-like game to get them to all fit together on the buffet.

The solution? Stack a bunch of sandwiches in a bowl and you don't have to be so precious about it. (Of course, you do have to wrap them in parchment paper, so that the sandwiches don't fall apart. Make sure you do that!)

(Image credit: Tessa Neustadt)

And here's a picture (above) where you can see the Christmas theme of the party. Another great idea to steal (when it actually is December): Throw some ornaments around all willy-nilly. Well, don't actually throw them, because they can break. Gently place them around your table.